Cougar Annie
Encyclopedia
Ada Annie Rae-Arthur, later Ada Annie Lawson but better known as Cougar Annie, (June 19, 1888 – April 28, 1985) was a pioneer who settled near Hesquiat Harbour at Boat Basin in Clayoquot Sound
on the west coast of Vancouver Island
, Canada.
, California
, she moved to the land where she was to live for more than 65 years from Vancouver
, British Columbia
in 1915 after having lived in England
, South Africa
and the Canadian Prairies
as a child. She arrived with the first of her four husbands to save him from an opium
addiction and ensure that the remittance cheques that came from his family in Scotland
would continue to arrive. At the time she and her husband settled on the coast, they had three small children. She gave birth to eight more children in this remote location. She acquired her nickname because of her famed marksmanship. She shot dozens of cougars during her long life.
saying "BC Widow with Nursery and orchard wishes partner. Widower preferred. Object matrimony." The new husband she chose from several candidates died at their home in 1944 of an accidental gunshot wound to the leg. One of the children ran to get Ada but she was too late as he had already bled out. The truth of this death was that he was cleaning his gun and didn't realize that there was a cartridge still in the chamber. Her third husband was produced by the same advertisement, and after his death of Pneumonia in 1955, she ran another ad, this time seeking a widower with young children. Her own children having grown and moved off, she found a companion who stayed on with his children for a number of years before the remoteness of life in Boat Harbour drove him away. (This previous statement has never been verified by the family.) In 1961 Annie married for the fourth and last time. It was an unsuccessful marriage to a man, 12 years her junior, who drank, stole from the store and sometimes beat her. This man tried to run Annie off a cliff to get the farm but she was wilier than he was and ran him off with her shotgun. When he left never to return around 1967, he was not missed.
In 1942 the lighthouse at Estevan Point
was shelled by a Japanese submarine. Annie claimed to have seen the submarine
surface in the harbour before the lighthouse
was shelled and to have found a shell on the beach in front of her land.
s. Killing cougars and bears was necessary because they preyed on the goat
s and chicken
s that she raised.
Her livelihood depended upon the regular visits of the Canadian Pacific Steamships Line Princess Maquinna that arrived every 10 days in Hesquiat Harbour from 1913 to 1952 on her rounds from Victoria
to Port Alice
.
Annie rarely left the property where she lived until well into her nineties. Ailing and mostly blind, she was removed to Port Alberni, where she died at the age of 97.
. In August 2010, the property was listed for sale, the study centre having been found to be not financially viable.
Clayoquot Sound
Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. It is a body of water with many inlets and islands. Major inlets include Sydney Inlet,...
on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Canada.
Early years
Born Ada Annie Jordan in SacramentoSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, she moved to the land where she was to live for more than 65 years from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in 1915 after having lived in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the Canadian Prairies
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...
as a child. She arrived with the first of her four husbands to save him from an opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
addiction and ensure that the remittance cheques that came from his family in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
would continue to arrive. At the time she and her husband settled on the coast, they had three small children. She gave birth to eight more children in this remote location. She acquired her nickname because of her famed marksmanship. She shot dozens of cougars during her long life.
Stories
After the death of her first husband, Willie Rae-Arthur in 1936, she advertised in The Western ProducerThe Western Producer
The Western Producer is a regional weekly publication based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada publishing news of interest to western Canadian farmers....
saying "BC Widow with Nursery and orchard wishes partner. Widower preferred. Object matrimony." The new husband she chose from several candidates died at their home in 1944 of an accidental gunshot wound to the leg. One of the children ran to get Ada but she was too late as he had already bled out. The truth of this death was that he was cleaning his gun and didn't realize that there was a cartridge still in the chamber. Her third husband was produced by the same advertisement, and after his death of Pneumonia in 1955, she ran another ad, this time seeking a widower with young children. Her own children having grown and moved off, she found a companion who stayed on with his children for a number of years before the remoteness of life in Boat Harbour drove him away. (This previous statement has never been verified by the family.) In 1961 Annie married for the fourth and last time. It was an unsuccessful marriage to a man, 12 years her junior, who drank, stole from the store and sometimes beat her. This man tried to run Annie off a cliff to get the farm but she was wilier than he was and ran him off with her shotgun. When he left never to return around 1967, he was not missed.
In 1942 the lighthouse at Estevan Point
Estevan Point
Estevan Point is a lighthouse located on the headland of the same name on the Hesquiat Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada....
was shelled by a Japanese submarine. Annie claimed to have seen the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
surface in the harbour before the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
was shelled and to have found a shell on the beach in front of her land.
The garden
With little help, Annie cleared 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) of her land and planted a sprawling garden. The garden was a source of income throughout her life, as she sold bulbs and plants by mail. She also operated a general store and post office from her plot of land. Another source of income over the years was a bounty offered for Cougars that ranged from $10 to $40. The numbers of cats that she claimed to have killed continued to increase into her old age but in 1955 she received bounties for 10 cats. At that time she claimed to have killed 62 cougars and about 80 bearBear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s. Killing cougars and bears was necessary because they preyed on the goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s that she raised.
Her livelihood depended upon the regular visits of the Canadian Pacific Steamships Line Princess Maquinna that arrived every 10 days in Hesquiat Harbour from 1913 to 1952 on her rounds from Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
to Port Alice
Port Alice, British Columbia
Port Alice is a small, quiet, town of approx. 821 located off on Neroutsos Inlet, northwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural beauty, pulp mill, and salt water fishing.-History:It was named...
.
Annie rarely left the property where she lived until well into her nineties. Ailing and mostly blind, she was removed to Port Alberni, where she died at the age of 97.
The garden recovered
Her friend Peter Buckland, a retired Vancouver stockbroker, bought the property from her estate in 1985 and spent nearly fifteen years restoring the garden. He established the non-profit Boat Basin Foundation to manage the garden, which built and in 2007 opened the Temperate Rainforest Field Study Centre on a ridge overlooking the garden, in partnership with Ecotrust Canada and the Hesquiaht First NationHesquiaht First Nation
The Hesquiaht First Nation is a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.- Introduction :...
. In August 2010, the property was listed for sale, the study centre having been found to be not financially viable.
See also
- Hesquiat Peninsula Provincial ParkHesquiat Peninsula Provincial ParkHesquiat Peninsula Provincial Park is a provincial park at the western extremity of the Clayoquot Sound region of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The Hesquiat Peninsula forms the division between the Clayoquot Sound region, to the south, and the Nootka Sound region to...
- Google Satellite Image, Accessed November 11, 2006
- Hesquiaht First NationHesquiaht First NationThe Hesquiaht First Nation is a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.- Introduction :...
- Ecotrust Canada